Low power and Lossy Networks (LLNs), e.g., sensor networks, have a myriad of applications, such as Smart Grid and Smart Cities. Various challenges are presented with LLNs, such as lossy links, low bandwidth, battery operation, low memory and/or processing capability of a device, etc. Changing environmental conditions may also affect device communications. For example, physical obstructions (e.g., changes in the foliage density of nearby trees, the opening and closing of doors, etc.), changes in interference (e.g., from other wireless networks or devices), propagation characteristics of the media (e.g., temperature or humidity changes, etc.), and the like also present unique challenges to LLNs.
In some cases, an LLN device may communicate using multiple link technologies, such as radio frequency (RF), power line communication (PLC), and/or cellular. Link technologies common to LLN deployments also typically communicate on shared media. For example, LLN devices may communicate on different electrical phases of a tri-phase electrical system using PLC transceivers. For these reasons, different pairs of devices communicating within close physical proximity may interfere with each other, resulting in a type of interference called self-interference. Unlike interference due to external sources (e.g., environmental conditions, etc.), self-interference is a form of localized interference that can be attributed to the network itself. Particularly in the context of LLNs, it is challenging and difficult to devise network solutions that account for the effects of self-interference between devices.